


Damn Demon

by sweetlykhal



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Bill Cipher is a Jerk, Dipper Pines is a Dork, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Fluff, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, They fight a lot, but they hate each other for quite a bit, ish?, they're very cute and make my heart happy, with Mabel and Pacifica
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-09-19 05:23:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20325817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetlykhal/pseuds/sweetlykhal
Summary: It's been four years since the Pines family defeated Bill, but the dream demon doesn't want to stay down.Dipper spends four summers thinking he's going crazy, until he summons the golden demon. Neither are expecting the form he takes.With the forest becoming home to new dangerous creatures, and that damn demon pestering him at every step, Dipper isn't sure how he's going to keep everything from his family.





	1. I.

**Author's Note:**

> This mess is going to be my first story published on this account, and I'm not the least bit sorry(,:  
Dipper and Mabel wind up in Gravity Falls the summer after Wierdmaggedon, and things are looking up- aside from the fact that Dipper can't shake the unnerving feeling that he's being watched.

Dipper Pines drops his suitcase on the floor of the Mystery Shack attic, grinning at his twin as he does so. She returns the grin with an excited squeal. 

The room looks just as it did last summer, same splitting floorboards, angled walls, and triangular window. The late sun eases through the window in golden orange rays, making it clear just how many months its been since the space has been cleaned.

Mabel doesn’t seem the least bit phased by the filth, flopping onto her bed with a content sigh. 

“The mystery twins are back!” She punctuates her sentence with a fist in the air.

Dipper snorts, amused. “Mabel, we haven’t even unpacked.”

She hangs her head over the side of her mattress, “My statement still stands.”

Dipper shrugs at his sister, but a giddy sort of happiness flutters through his stomach at the idea. “This is going to be a great summer, Mabs, I can just feel it. We’re technically teens, Bill is gone, and there are so many creatures in the woods to discover.”

Mabel sits up, swaying a bit from the rush as she grins. “And summer romances!”

Dipper laughs, albeit a bit nervous. “Sure Mabel, whatever you say. Why don’t you go see if Stan’s attempting to cook dinner? You know that can’t end too well.”

Mabel’s eyes widen before she leaps off the bed, bolting down the stairs. Dipper chuckles, fully aware of how sketchy his Grunkle’s meals can be.

He flits his gaze across the room before he heads downstairs to help his sister. A steady warmth wraps around the room, but he can’t shake the unease that’s settled around him from the moment he stepped foot in the shack. Like he’s being watched.

Dipper shakes his head, laughing at himself.

“You’re losing it, man.”  
…  
Dipper would like to say he didn’t let out a high-pitched squeal when he stumbled across the hare, but of course he would be lying. 

The hare flicks its ears in annoyance, but otherwise pays no attention to the child.

Dipper scrambles over the fallen log in front of him, trying not to trip over his own feet. The hare raises its head, and Dipper can see the horn curling from its forehead for the first time. It twist from the creatures head like a pointed branch, gnarled like rough bark. Soft brown spots dapple its back and if it didn’t have such a gruesome history Dipper would almost call the hare beautiful.

The brunette shifts into the clearing, sinking to the floor just on the edge of sunlight, pulling out his leather-bound journal. The edges and spine are already soft and frayed from how much he’s used it in the past year. He started keeping his own records of the town’s creatures shortly after Weirdmagedon, intent to pick up where his Great Uncle Ford left off.

He flips through until he finds an empty page, quickly attempting to sketch the form of the hare. He jots down the name at the top in his choppy handwriting. Al-mi'raj. An Eastern monster from Islamic mythology, Dipper pauses, pen hovering over the page as the realisation strikes him.

What is a Middle Eastern creature doing in Oregon? 

He’s shaken out of his thoughts when the hare stands. It's only in that moment that Dipper takes into account just how big it is, only slightly smaller than a dog.

It’s as the hare steps forward, head bowed that Dipper recalls the myths. The large hare makes a habit of taking down bigger prey with its horn, eating them afterwards.

Dipper stills, holding his breath. The hare inches closer, a predatory gleam in its eyes.

He can feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest, crawling up his throat. Is this seriously going to be his demise? A unicorn bunny? 

The hare is only a few steps away when its ears start to flick and panic seeps into its eyes. It’s gone before Dipper can come to terms that he’s not going to die.

He slumps back onto the log, breathing unsteady as he clutches his journal to his chest. His eyes slip shut as he exhales a shaky laugh. 

Dipper sits there for a moment to catch his breath, until that same unease from the shack settles over him. It crawls under his skin, bringing a chill that the sun can’t chase away.

He rises, heading back to the Mystery Shack, looking over his shoulder the whole time.  
…  
“Mabel, you can’t hit on every single barista who makes you coffee.’

The brunette laughs, tugging the bottom of her fuzzy blue sweater. “Not with that attitude, bro-bro.”

Dipper sighs, tilting his head back in exasperation as his sister skips up to the counter, leaning her elbows on the counter as she bats her eyelashes at the cashier. The boy shifts awkwardly, and Dipper pulls his journal out while he waits for his coffee.

He’s scanning a page on the shifter when he feels it. A breath on his neck, ice cold. He jerks around, eyes wide, only to be met with the back of the booth.

He shudders just as Mabel returns, setting their coffees down with a frown.

“Guys these days! Have no appreciation for-”

Her voice tapers off, losing its annoyed quality. “Dipper? You okay? You look a bit spooked.”

He shakes himself, giving his sister a nervous smile. “Yeah it was nothing. So? Cashier boy didn’t appreciate your jokes?”

Mabel shoots him one last worried glance before throwing her arms up, delving into a rant about how unappreciated she is.

Dipper can barely listen to her as an icy fear creeps up his spine.

Something is definitely watching him.  
…  
The short months of their summer vacation seem to fly by, with Dipper growing more and more uneasy as the days pass.

Mabel takes note of the change in her brother, before finally cornering him one afternoon.

He’s sat on his bed in their shared room, leg hanging over the edge and bouncing nervously as he chews on the end of his pen. His journal is open in front of him, but his focus is locked on the window.

She slams the door shut, placing her hands on her hips. “Okay, that’s it, bro, you’ve been acting weird all summer, and you’re going to tell me why.”

It takes Dipper a moment to look at her, and when he does his eyebrows are knit in confusion and worry. He opens his mouth, then closes it.

Mabel’s face softens, and she climbs onto his bed, resting her elbows on her knees as she tilts her head. “Dipper, what’s up?”

His eyes seem to clear as he shakes his head. “I’m not sure.” He chews on his lip nervously. “Mabel, have you...have you felt like someone’s been watching us since we got here?”

His twin stiffens, then covers it with a laugh.”Dip-dop are you okay?”

Dipper leans forward, shoving his journal to the side. “No, Mabel, I’m serious. I can’t help but feel like we’re being watched.”

Mabel frowns, worried. “Dipper...that sounds like.” She cuts off. “Dipper, Bill is gone, you’re just being paranoid.”

Dipper’s shoulders drop as he turns his gaze back to the window, tracing the shape with his eyes. His voice is soft when he responds. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He turns to Mabel, smiling as he nods. “You’re right. He’s gone, I’m just being weird.”

She snorts, punching him in the arm as she jumps off his bed. “That’s your thing, bro. Try to ease up, okay?”

She leaves their room with a threat to douse him in glitter if he keeps up the moping, and he shoos her out with a laugh. He gets up to follow her out, ignoring the stare he feels burning into his back.

“Bill is gone.” Dipper mumbles to himself as he shuts the door.  
...  
“Dude, you have to promise to call me, like, once a week, deal?”

Dipper chuckles at Wendy, the familiar warmth in his chest more platonic than last summer. “Sure thing. Only if you promise to keep Grunkle Stan in line.”

Stan, standing to the side, wiping away his ‘allergies’, scoffs. “Why just me, kid? I’d say my idiot brother is a much bigger mess.”

Dipper raises and eyebrow. “Grunkle Stan, you convinced a customer to pay $20 dollars for a pen you claimed was cursed, punched someone’s dog, and set the kitchen on fire all in one day.”

Stan crosses his arms, grumbling something about doing ‘good business’, and that the dog was ’asking for it’.

Wendy rolls her eyes, smiling. “I’ll do what I can, dude. College is going to make it hard to keep him in line.”

The group, family and friends alike, dissolve into laughter, exchanging hugs and tears until the bus pulls up on the dirt road.

The twins climb aboard, waving to everyone until the bus takes a turn that makes them impossible to see.

Dipper slides down in the seat, smile slipping from his face. 

It's as if someone is watching him all the way through town, and it's not until they pass the 'Now Leaving Gravity Falls sign that the pressure lets up and he can breath.


	2. II.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Pines twins, now sixteen, return to the Shack for another summer filled with adventure, but Dipper is about to get more than he bargained for when his least favourite dream demon pays him a visit.

To say that the summer months continued as normal wouldn’t be entirely true or entirely false, seeing as nothing in Gravity Falls could ever be normal, but things were weird, even to Dipper’s standards.

The first summer after Weirdmageddon was when the feeling of being watched started, and persisted every summer after.

The following summer is when the antics started, like Casper the friendly ghost developed a pranking streak. Dipper’s clothes often went missing, only to be found in the oddest places. His nightshirt was found balled up in the coffee pot, his boxers hung on the Mystery Shack sign, his socks artistically placed on the antlers of the Six-Pack O’ Lope. Dipper had assumed at first that Mabel had been behind the harmless pranks, but there was never any glitter at the scene of the crime, so he ruled her out fairly quickly.

On the summer of the twins being fifteen, and increasingly alarmed, nothing happened. Absolutely nothing. The eerie silence put Dipper on edge more than the constant presence, and the idea that he was going crazy started to seep in even further.

Dipper spent the entire school year leading up to their next visit doing research. He was constantly on his laptop, surrounded by books on demons, ghosts, and entities. He got so little sleep that he installed a coffee maker in his room so he could get as many waking hours out of the day as possible. Mabel could hardly ever drag him out of the house to do anything, and even her nagging couldn’t get through to him.

He usually brushed her off with the promise that whatever was plaguing them in Gravity Falls wouldn’t continue this summer.

So when they finally crossed into the Gravity Falls territory and Dipper’s features relaxed into something more peaceful, if determined, Mabel felt relief and anxiety at the same time.

…

Dipper hauls his suitcase up the stairs, mind racing with all the possibilities. Now that he’s actually in Gravity Falls, he can really test his research properly. He’s almost ninety percent sure that he’s dealing with a malevolent spirit. One who’s pretty pissed at him.

All that flies out the window when he enters the room, because there on his mattress is a small pile of something he’s seen once before. Flat, with slight points, an off white colour that glints in the sun filtering into the room. Deer teeth.

Dipper walks up to the bed, hands shaking as he picks up the note alongside the horrid gift.

_Welcome back, kid. _

Dipper hardly notices the paper fluttering to the ground as his mind spirals. Ghosts he was prepared for, had expected. He hadn’t wanted to deal with demons, but he could have handled himself. Having to face the fact that his initial fears were indeed true set him on edge.

How was Bill back? They had destroyed him four years ago.

Dipper balls his hands into fist, refusing to let them betray how much the realisation scared him. He sweeps the teeth into his hand, yanks open the drawer to the side table, and dumps them inside with a shudder. He slams the drawer shut with more force than is necessary, and begins to riffle through his bag.

When his fingers graze over the familiar cover, he pulls it out swiftly. He flips through his personal journal until he lands on the pages about Bill. He flips through each one, back and forth until his head starts to spin.

He slumps to the floor, back against his bed as he tilts his head back.

“Damn you, Bill.”

Dipper drops the journal onto the floor, pages exposed. Each one is blank. Every word has been cleared from the paper, every incantation, demon trap, and weapon against Bill has been effectively erased from the book.

Dipper can feel it now, like an itch on the back of his neck. He had almost forgotten what it felt like, having not felt it for over a year. The presence that hangs in the air is smug, and boy does it piss him off.

It’s the whisper of air, like fingers, that sets him off, as it runs through the curls of his hair.

Dipper bolts up, hand flying to his hair. “You isosceles nightmare! Stay away from me and my family.”

Dipper doesn’t get a reply, but the presence doesn’t shift at all. He whirls around, leaving the attic with a growl.

He returns to the ground floor to see his Grunkles and Mabel, laughing and catching up. His shoulders slump as he sighs. He can’t let Bill hurt them again, and bringing up that the dream demon may have returned would just set them all on edge. He can handle Bill on his own.

Mabel turns, beaming when she spots him sulking at the foot of the stairs. “Hey bro-bro! Quit being such a frowny face, it’s summer! Ready for some mystery?”

She waggles her eyebrows as she giggles, and Dipper shoots her a tired smile. He’s definitely not ready for the amount of mystery that’s bound to happen this summer.

…

The edges of the forest expand around him in a blanket of lush green, lit by the glow of the stars and the tiny blue fairies flying around Dipper.

The trees form a heavy canopy above his head, and moonlight spills through in the clearing before him. Dipper pads across the soft moss floor, enamoured by the rosy hued mushrooms dotting the roots of the giant trees and the water bubbling in a brook to his left.

He sighs, relaxing as he slips into the silver of the moon, as thick in the night as a blanket.

He kneels down on the plush ground, content to sit back and observe his surroundings. His peace is short lived when he spots it, sitting at the edge of the clearing, wrapped in vegetation and mocking him.

The stone statue is the last thing Dipper had wanted to see, and when the edges of his vision grows fuzzy, his heartbeat picks up, drumming against his rib cage.

The world snaps then, with a noise akin to a rubber band reaching its breaking point, and everything is set in grey-scale.

Dipper begins cursing immediately, scrambling off the ground. The statue of Bill now has a very familiar shape leaning against it, if a bit paler and smaller than Dipper remembers.

“Yeesh, kid, who taught you that sort of language? Ha! Who am I kidding? With your Grunkle?”

Dipper can’t even respond. He can’t tell if this fire burning through his veins is anger or fear. Maybe both.

“Why are you alive?”

Bill narrows his eye, “Nice to see you too, Pine Tree.”

Dipper closes his eyes, taking a deep breath. “How are you alive?”

Bill rolls his eye, swinging his cane around as he floats closer. “And here I thought you were smart, kid. Remember when I told you I was a being of pure energy with no weaknesses?”

Dipper glares at the demon, unamused. “Everyone has weaknesses, even you.”

Bill tilts to the side, which Dipper assumes is the equivalent of Bill tilting his head.

“You’re focusing on the wrong part, kid.”

Dipper’s brows knit together as his brain kicks into overdrive. Bill said he was a being of pure energy, but what could that-

Dipper’s thoughts grind to a halt as it clicks into place, and Bill seems to realise the moment he understands, because he laughs so hard that his golden surface glows.

“There you go, kid! Come on, give me the rundown, I wanna know what’s going on in that head of yours.”

Dipper grits his teeth and curses under his breath. “Energy can never be created or destroyed, only transferred or changed into a different form.”

Bill claps his small hands together, “Wow, Pine Tree, that was fast! Guess someone paid attention in class!”

Dipper shakes his head. “That changes nothing. It just means we took the wrong approach last time. You say you have no weaknesses? I think you just revealed yours to me.”

Bill is silent, and he appears to dim to a pale yellow as he chuckles silently. “You just don’t get it, kid.”

Dipper is flung to the ground from the force of the mindscape closing, cursing Bill the whole time as he returns to his dream.

The enchanting forest holds no more fascination for Dipper as he paces, mentally going over every single plan he can possibly think of.

The edges of the dream begin to soften as he starts to wake up, and Dipper dreads whatever inevitable fight is coming. A storm is on the horizon, and he’s woefully unprepared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was planning on spacing these chapters out, but things really start to kick off in chapter three, so who knows how long I'll be able to hold out(,:
> 
> So much Bill in the next few chapters. I may or may not have a soft spot for the annoying golden boy, oops


	3. III.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dipper decides to summon Bill, intent on figuring out what's going on with the demon.

Dipper practically leaps out of the shack the next morning, with a full backpack, and a mildly stupid plan.

Mabel shoots him a weird glance as he yanks open the door, so he smiles as reassuringly as possible.

“Going exploring! Be back late, bye!”

She raises an eyebrow, but continues to shove glittery pancakes in her mouth. “Be safe, Dip-dop.”

Dipper doesn’t answer, because there’s absolutely nothing safe about what he’s going to do.

Winding through the hanging greenery of the forest is a familiar action, and soon Dipper’s pounding heart starts to calm. The silence of the early morning settles over everything in a peaceful haze. It’s a shame he’s about to ruin it.

Dipper comes to a stop once he’s in a large enough clearing some ways away from the shack. 

The birdsong quiets, and Dipper shivers.

He slings his backpack off, dumping its contents out. Candles, salt, chalk, and the old journals.

Dipper works quickly, drawing an intricate demon trap on the packed soil with the chalk. He places the candles around it in a ring, followed by a ring of salt.

He sits back on his knees when it appears finished, checking for any miscalculations or errors.

Dipper takes a deep breath before pulling the second journal to him, flipping to Bill’s summoning incantation. He hesitates momentarily as the force of his presence shifts, growing heavy, almost angry.

“Are you scared, Bill? You should be.”

Dipper starts the incantation, the nonsense latin flowing off his tongue smoothly. He’s not entirely sure what to expect. A memory from last summer pierces his mind, but he shoves it away. There will be time for that soon.

The candle flames flare, tall towers of heat bathing the dark woods in an angry red. The lines of the devil’s trap begin to glow blue, and if Dipper could see himself, he knows his eyes would be doing the same. 

The earth beneath him begins to hum, and the light inside the circle begins to gather and shift, twisting like it’s deciding on a form.

It settles on something, but the light has grown so blinding that Dipper has to close his eyes, and when he opens them the world is dark. No, that’s not entirely true. The world is monochrome.

A small form lays curled inside the circle, and Dipper crosses his arms, muttering.

“That would almost be humorous if I didn’t despise you so much.”

The form-Bill’s form-moves, a weak jerking that barely shifts a limb.

“What have you done to me?”

Bill’s voice is furious, but weak, and the sound draws a laugh from Dipper. It’s childish, but he can’t seem to help it.

“After your little visit last night I couldn’t sleep, so I started thinking.”

“Wow, must’ve been pretty hard for you, Pine Tree.”

“I wouldn’t be so arrogant if I were you, I’m your only way out of that devil’s trap.”

Bill’s new form shifts, jerking more harshly than the first time, rising slightly, and for the first time an eye meets his, glowing golden and furious.

“You think a little puny chalk drawing can hold me?”

Dipper shrugs, unbothered. “Under normal circumstances, no, but these aren’t normal circumstances.”

Bill rises more, slumping into a sitting position, and the sudden movement puts everything on display. Dipper averts his gaze with flushed cheeks. Stupid demon.

Bill’s head slumps into his hand, and then his whole body stiffens. “Is this a meatsack?! WHAT. HAVE. YOU. DONE.”

Dipper chuckles without humour. “I’ll be honest, this wasn’t exactly what I was expecting.” He tilts his head, meeting Bill’s furious glare. “It’s much better.”

Bill ducks his head down, then lifts it with a smirk, changing tactics. “Oh? Is that so, Pine Tree? Like what you see?”

Dipper’s cheeks, which had just cooled, rapidly heat as he splutters. Bill’s voice had practically woven his nickname into a sinful purr. “Absolutely not, you freak! I meant that you’re clearly weaker in this form, and I hadn’t expected to get so lucky.”

Bill tilts his head, eyes hooded and reflecting the greyed light of the candles. “You were expecting to get lucky?”

Dipper grits his teeth, “Will you shut up?”

Bill grins, baring slightly pointy teeth, before standing up.

The action leaves Dipper’s face on fire, and he hopes that the darkness is enough to hide it as he whirls around.

Bill laughs, and Dipper curses at him as he digs in his backpack for the jacket he had brought along in case it was chilly. He tosses it to Bill without looking, satisfied by the muffled noise of shock he lets out.

Dipper waits until he hears the zipper being pulled up before he turns back around. The jacket hangs low over his hips, and practically spills over his shoulders since Bill only zipped the jacket up to his navel. Dipper frowns, but lets it slide. Close enough.

“Are you curious as to why I summoned you?”

Bill fiddles with the zipper for a second before sighing. “I suppose. Enlighten me, Pine Tree.”

“You really shouldn't have revealed yourself to me last night. You showing up told me a few things. One, you’re not dead. Two, you’re very weak. And Three, the prophecy was true.” 

He almost whispers the last realization, but Bill hears him nonetheless.

The demon tilts his head, observing Dipper for a second with a quiet sort of fascination. “First two are obvious to both of us, but I think you need to enlighten me on the third one.”

Dipper pauses, not expecting such an easy acceptance. “Last summer you weren’t here. I’m not sure where you were, or what you were doing, but it allowed Mabel and I to get into quite a bit of mischief.”

Bill snorts, “What’s new, kid.”

Dipper ignores him in favour of telling the story. “One of the particularly monumental adventures we ended up going on landed us in the time and space between time and space.” Here he carefully watches Bill’s features, which light up in shock and? Is that fear?

“We met something there, a great being. We weren’t supposed to remember meeting him, but a run in with the Mind Elves a bit later made it possible for me to recall what he told me.”

Bill is standing eerily still, not a muscle twitching, eyes unwavering as Dipper talks.

Dipper swallows and continues, “ We knew vaguely of who he was because of what our Grunkle Stan told us. When he was erasing his mind you said something that seemed like nonsense. Grunkle Ford reversed the message, to our horror, which seemed to invoke the power of something called Axolotl. We all brushed it off with nervous laughter, but it was as I was looking into his omniscient eyes that an idea started to form in the back of my mind.”

Bill’s eyes haven’t left his, and the gold inside them shifts like liquid, betraying what his face won’t. 

Dipper wets his lips and continues. “I asked him what he knew about you.”

Bill stares in the silence, letting it hang before he speaks. “And what did he tell you?”

Dipper takes a shuddering breath before quoting the extradimensional creature.

_ Sixty degrees that come in threes. _

_ Watches from within birch trees. _

_ Saw his own dimension burn. _

_ Misses home and can't return. _

_ Says he's happy. He's a liar. _

_ Blame the arson for the fire. _

_ If he wants to shirk the blame, _

_ He'll have to invoke my name. _

_ One way to absolve his crime. _

_ A different form, a different time. _

Dipper pauses to let the words hit Bill properly. “The last line is what I was focusing on last night. At first I was terrified to imagine you earning a different, and potentially more dangerous, form. But the line before says you need to absolve your crimes.”

Bill growls, eyes darting to the side. “Get to the point, Pine Tree.”

“I think in order for you to be in this new form, you have to correct your mistakes.”

Bill laughs then, malicious and cold. “And who says I want to be in this form? I don’t have to fix anything, kid, not if I don’t want to.”

Dipper steps forward, determined. “You’ll want to be in this form.”

Bill sneers, lip curling up. “Why would you think I want to be stuck in this useless meatsack?”

“Because I want to make a deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I say you are not ready for the next chapter, I mean you are not ready for the next chapter. That being said, I do hope you enjoy it!


	4. IV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dipper and Bill discuss a possible deal, and Dipper realises something startling about the forest.

Bill’s eyebrows shoot up into the fringe of his blonde hair, almost platinum. Dipper hates how cool the shaved sides look, because he’s never been able to get his curly hair to behave so nicely.

Bill’s tongue darts out to wet his lips, drawing Dipper out of his jealous hair fantasies. The greedy look in the demon’s eyes sends a shiver down Dipper’s spine.

“What could you possibly offer me Pine Tree?”

Dipper takes a steadying breath before speaking. Heaven help him. “You tell me. You’ve been, what? Stalking me? It’s been a few years now. Tell me what you want, and maybe we can work something out.”

A small smile is slowly forming across Bill’s face, beautiful and deadly. “Come closer, Pine Tree.”

Dipper frowns, unease coiling in his stomach. “What? No.”

Bill’s eyes flash, “Be a good little puppet and come here.”

Dipper crosses his arms and scowls at the gilded demon. “Fuck you.”

“Hm, puppet doesn’t work for you? Perhaps pet? Is that better? Come here, pet”

Dipper’s cheeks flush in indignation as he stomps towards the glowing circle, stopping just before the first line. “Shut. Up. Bill.”

Bill spreads his hands, placated, as he shifts closer to the barrier of his metaphorical cage. “I got you closer, didn’t I?”

Dipper wishes so badly that he could punch the smug look right off of his stupid face, but he closes his eyes and sucks in a breath through his teeth. “Fine. I’m closer. What do you want?”

Bill let’s the question hang in the air between them, seemingly content to study Dipper’s face. He probably knows how much it annoys him, the jerk.

“You.”

It takes Dipper an embarrassingly long moment to realise that Bill is answering his question, and he reels back, almost losing his footing.

“Excuse me, you psychopath?” 

Bill doesn’t answer.

“I was your puppet once, I’m not crazy enough to do it again!”

Bill still doesn’t answer him. He stands, toes brushing the edge of the circle, eyes unblinking, mouth set in a soft smile.

“Why are you just standing there? You think this is funny? You’ve tortured my family for years, and you just want to do it again.” Dipper’s fingernails are digging into his palms, but he can’t calm down enough to register the pain. “I should just let you rot here in this circle.”

Bill tilts his head, eyes swirling like golden mercury. Dipper scoffs, yanking his backpack up by the strap and slinging it over his shoulder. He’s halfway across the clearing when Bill quietly clears his throat.

“That’s not what I meant.”

Dipper doesn’t turn around, but he’s not leaving either. Damn demon.

“Aren’t you curious, Pine Tree?”

Dipper snorts, rolling his eyes, even though Bill can’t see him. “Will you ever stop calling me that?’

Dipper can almost feel Bill’s amusement. “No.”

He practically throws his backpack down as he whirls around, but he doesn’t dare to step any closer to Bill. Being close to him has weird side effects. Typical demon stuff, Dipper’s sure of it.

“I want you, that’s it, plain and simple.”

Dipper’s brows knit together in frustration. “That’s as far from simple as you can get. What do you mean? With your tendencies, it’s probably something horrible and repulsive.”

Bill’s face shifts subtly, and he turns his head to hide the emotions morphing his features. “Sure.”

The simple word doesn’t sound like an admission, more like resignation. Dipper resist the urge to step closer, beating down his curiosity. “What are you really after. Bill?”

Bill schools his features before he turns his head back to Dipper, a maniacal grin plastered to his face. “A real form. Give me that, and I’ll consider your little deal.”

Dipper hesitates. He doesn’t trust the demon’s intentions at all, but with what he wants out of the deal, a real form can’t help Bill in any way.

“Why have you changed your mind? You just said you don’t want to be in a human vessel.”

Bill grins, “Well, I can't give away all my secrets, Pine Tree! That wouldn’t be any fun.”

Dipper shrugs, “If you agree to my terms, I don’t care what plans you think you have. They won’t work.”

Bill’s eyes solidify, brows lowering until shadows obscure the bright hue.”We’ll see about that Pine Tree. For now, you should head back to the Mystery Shack, draw up a contract, and act like nothing odd is happening.”

Bill snaps his fingers, and colour bleeds into the world, snapping Dipper out of the mindscape like waking up from a dream.

The pink hue that tints the sky has hardly changed since Dipper drew the circle. He’d forgotten how oddly the mechanics of time work in the Mindscape. He looks down at the circle before him, charred into a brand on the ground.

The sight makes Dipper shiver for some reason, and he quickly reaches down to pull on his backpack. Go back to the Mystery Shack. Draw up a contract. Act like nothing odd is happening.

Dipper laughs out loud, the noise bouncing off of the surrounding trees. Act like nothing odd is happening? In Gravity Falls? That would be more suspicious, honestly.

“Damn demon.” Dipper mutters to himself before leaving the clearing.

…

Dipper is curled up on his bed, journals splayed out before him, with his own personal journal open on his lap, when Mabel walks in.

She pokes her head in through the open door, “Dipper? You still alive in here?”

The easy grin she wears melts some of the tension in his shoulders. “Hey Mabs, I’m still alive.”

She leans against the door frame, throwing her head back dramatically. “Drat! My plan didn’t work!”

Dipper closes his journal as he laughs, “Thanks Mabel, love you too.”

She grins at him, sunshine and flowers. “Why are you holed up in your room? It’s been hours.”

Dipper glances to the window, steadily trying to ignore the triangular shape as he notes how dark the sky has become. 

He hums quietly, “I hadn’t noticed.”

Mabel makes her way over to his bed, pushing aside a journal to sit on the edge. She surveys the piles of books and papers around the bed.

“What is so fascinating that you need all this stuff? I haven’t seen you this into a project since-”

Mabel’s voice falters, and her smile wavers. Dipper keeps his eyes trained on her face, fighting the urge to look elsewhere.

“Since when?”

She gulps, laughing nervously. “Well, since we got rid of Bill. Or when we first met Bill. Or when you got possessed by Bill. Or…”

Mabel trails off, eyes widening a little.

Dipper holds up a hand, “Hang on Mabel, that’s not it.”

He curses himself for lying to her, but it’s better in the long run. Maybe.

Mabel plays with the corner of a nearby paper, not meeting her twins eyes. “Then what is it? Because it definitely seems like a Bill related thing.”

Dipper scrambles for an idea when he looks at the worn leather journal in his fingers. He flips to the most recent entry, flipping the book around for Mabel to see.

“You see this creature? Do you know what it is?”

Mabel scans the drawing and shrugs. “Should I?”

Dipper shakes his head, smiling a little, because he’s thought of a brilliant idea. One that had begun to form this morning.

“This is the Al-mi'raj. It’s a monster from the Middle East.”

Mabel glances up at him, confused but intrigued. “What does that mean?”

Dipper sets the journal down, biting his lip. “Well, that’s what I’m trying to figure out. For years the creatures that we’ve encountered either belong to Western culture, or have been adopted through mainstream media. They’re fairy tales and folklore that we’re familiar with. This-” Here, Dipper taps the image of the horned hare, “Is not part of our common knowledge. It doesn’t belong here.”

Dipper gets up then, pacing the room as he clicks his pen, brain circling around idea after idea. “I saw it a few years ago, but that’s not the only one! I took a different route home, to look around the forest. I passed the large cave on the north side, and Dead Skunk Lake. Do you know what I saw?”

Mabel is leaning closer now, eyes shining as she shakes her head.

Dipper feels bad obscuring the truth from her, but the discovery he’s slowly unraveling is too interesting to ignore.

“I’m not a hundred percent certain of what I saw in the cave, since I’ve never seen one before, but I swear it was a Grootslang.”

Dipper barely gets the name out before Mabel burst into laughter, doubling over on the bed. 

Dipper stops pacing to stare at her. “What? Why are you laughing.”

Mabel wheezes, holding her ribs, “Grootslang!” She manages to push out.

Dipper pauses, letting the name wash over him, and he has to stifle a chuckle. “You wouldn’t be laughing if you knew what it looked like, Mabs.”

His sister wipes at a stray tear, choking back more laughter. “Okay, okay, what does the fearsome Grootslang look like?”

Dipper’s smile turns down as he remembers the giant shape in the dark. “It’s not pretty. It’s a primordial creature from South African lore. Their gods fashioned a being that was too clever and strong, and attempted to split it apart. Unfortunately, they didn’t succeed in getting them all. It has a horrifying form, half elephant, half snake. Imagine a giant misshapen creature, tough as kevlar, slinking in the depths of a dark cave, face a horrible mixture between serpent and elephant. Large tusk surrounding a gaping jaw capable of unhinging to swallow its prey alive.”

Dipper stops when he registers the fear in Mabel’s eyes, and clears his throat. “Sorry. The other creature I’m not entirely sure of, but it looked like a Kelpie to me.”

Mabel tilts her head. “Those seal shapeshifters?”

Dipper shakes his head no, “Those are Selkies. They’re both Scottish. Both shapeshifters and water dwellers. Kelpies resemble horses.” He shrugs, “It could have been any number of horse-like creatures, though. I think more creatures are starting to show up, and I’m not sure why.”

Mabel flops back onto the bed. “So basically, mythological creatures from around the world, that are extremely deadly, are showing up in the Gravity Falls woods?”

Dipper sticks the end of his pen in his mouth, clicking it against his teeth. “Pretty much.”

Mabel lifts her head, grinning. “Wonderful! Mystery Twins to the rescue!”

Dipper laughs, rolling his eyes. “Only you would be excited about unknown killer monsters.”

Mabel sits up, leaning on her elbows. “It’s a Mabel specialty. Now come on! Dinner will be ready soon. The monsters will still be there tomorrow.”

Dipper smiles at her as she leaves the room, but it slowly drops when she’s gone. “They’re not what I’m worried about.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy. Next chapter? Next chapter.  
Get ready


	5. V.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things between Dipper and Bill heat up.

Dipper sinks into the warm covers of his bed not long after dinner, exhausted by the day’s discoveries. He’s out before his head hits the pillow, and when the world is leached of colour, he understands why.

“Finally! You took forever, Pine Tree.”

Dipper groans, refusing to open his eyes.

Bill’s voice gets closer, and Dipper flinches.

“C’mon, pet, don’t you have anything to tell me?”

Dipper’s eyes snap open, ready to bite Bill’s head off, but he reels back when he sees how close the demon is.

“Yeah, you’re a major dick.” Dipper takes a step back as he says it, unnerved by the god-like demon.

Bill’s eyes flash briefly, glowing red. “That’s not what I meant, and we both know it.”

Dipper decides to ignore Bill, instead looking around the forest. It's definitely the forest behind the shack, like the night before, and just as magical. It’s probably his mindscape, which makes sense. This is his safe haven. Demonic presence not included.

“Don’t mess with me, kid.”

Bill’s voice is hard, laced with anger, but Dipper isn’t fazed by it.

“Or what?”

Dipper meets Bill’s eyes calmly, only slightly flustered by the swirling hurricane of gold. Bill’s face flushes an angry red before he opens his mouth, flailing.

“That’s what I thought. As much as you hate it, you need me in order to get anything. You don’t have any right to be making demands right now, so if I were you I’d shut up.”

Bill’s face settles into a still mask for an uncomfortably long minute before he throws his head back, laughing. He’s almost howling, and the noise bounces off the trees as Dipper stands with his arms crossed. He glares as Bill laughs, peals of laughter slowly dying down.

Bill finally straightens up, wiping the corner of his eye as he beams at Dipper. “Oh wow, kid, that was adorable. Looks like you’ve finally grown a backbone.”

Dipper glares at him, lips pursed as he struggles to reign in his rising anger.

Bill steps forward, closing the distance Dipper had tried to put between them. Dipper frowns, stepping back again. They do this a few times, successfully leaving Dipper very much feeling like he’s playing a game of cat and mouse. His eyes widen as his back hits the trunk of a nearby tree, and Bill’s narrow in delight.

“I think you’re forgetting, dear Pine Tree, that I am still an all powerful demon that can make your life a living hell. Or perhaps Shooting Star’s? I’ll even mess around in Fez’s head a bit if you really piss me off.”

Dipper tries to gather his courage, glaring weakly at the demon. “You need me.”

His voice lacks conviction, and Bill smirks.

“Not really, kid.”

Dipper turns his head away, breaking their eye contact as he shoves Bill away from him. “Just get off me, you freak.”

Bill doesn’t even move an inch when Dipper pushes him, but takes a step back with a chuckle.

“As long as we both know who’s really in charge here, Pine Tree.”

Dipper’s head is tilted down, but he raises his eyes to glare at Bill, brown eyes burning with hatred.

“You leave Mabel and Stan out of this, got it? Whatever you have planned, they don’t belong in it.”

Bill arches an eyebrow coolly, smirk still present on his face. “Admit that I’m in charge.”

Dipper practically snarls, fear and anger coiling in his stomach. “If you have to ask, you’re not really in charge.”

Bill laughs darkly, low and quiet. “Oh, I’m in charge, Pine Tree, I just want to hear you say it.”

Dipper stands against the tree, shaking as his fingers curl into fists at his side. “Sure, Bill. You’re in charge, you delusional psychopath.”

Bill spreads his hands in a placating gesture, “That’s practically my name. Now was that so hard?”

Dipper grinds his teeth, hating how easily Bill gets under his skin. “Listen, you jerk, I’m tired and I want to sleep. Let me out of here.”

Bill strolls over to an adjacent tree, leaning his hip against it and crossing his arms at he fixes his golden gaze on Dipper. “I haven’t received what I came here for.”

Dipper throws his hands up, frustrated. “What are you expecting? I’m not giving you some half-assed contract. I’ll let you know when I’m ready.”

Bill’s smile broadens. “Oh? That’s what you thought this was about?”

Dipper hesitates, mind reeling as he struggles to figure out what Bill is after. His voice comes out as a whisper, “What?”

Bill is fiddling with the buttons on his black silk shirt, and the fabric shines in the moonlight. “Have the woods seemed different to you, Pine Tree?”

Dipper’s brain seems to be moving through molasses, not willing to accept the truth Bill is presenting to him. “You...the creatures?”

Bill’s eyes flick up to his, reflecting silver as he grins. Dipper seems to be noticing things in slow motion. Are Bill’s teeth sharpened? Is he insinuating that he’s behind the strange creatures showing up? Why? Has he really underestimated Bill, of all people?

Bill lets him wade through his slow thoughts, amused.

Dipper slides down the tree, ignoring how the bark scrapes against his spine when his shirt rides up. He settles on the ground, crossing his legs. He briefly closes his eyes to summon his journal. He immediately begins jotting down his theories, ignoring how Bill scoffs at him.

“You and those damn journals, I swear, kid.”

Dipper hums at him, not really caring what the demon thinks. His pen stutters over the page when he hears Bill walking towards him, but he continues writing.

Bill practically throws himself to the ground, long legs splayed out as he leans back on his elbows, mere inches from Dipper.

Dipper pulls his legs in closer, scowling up at Bill. “Go sit somewhere else.”

Bill grins, feral. “No.”

Dipper’s scowl deepens, mouth tugging down in irritation. “Bill. Get away from me.”

The demon’s grin stretches as he rolls his shoulders, easing into his relaxed position. “Nah, I’m good, thanks.”

Dipper closes his eyes, breathing in through his mouth and exhaling slowly. He calmly shuts his journal, opening his eyes and leaning forward. With how Bill is lounging, it leaves Dipper peering down at him. He doesn’t react to the swirling irises as his mouth settles into a line.

“Since you insist on getting cozy, tell me what you know.”

Bill’s grin melts, eyes narrowing minutely as he tries to hide his frustration. “I don’t give out information for free, kid.”

Dipper raises his eyebrow, tone dry. “Oh really? Then why are you still here?”

Bill’s lip curls, “To annoy you, you little pest.”

Dipper actually has to stifle a laugh at that. When did Bill become so touchy? Or at the very least, when did he make it so obvious? It’s probably the human form, Dipper muses.

“You were doing a grand job, but I’m onto you now, so you’ll have to try harder.” 

He watches Bill carefully as the demon shifts, pulling himself up into a sitting position as he glares at Dipper.

“You want me to really annoy you, Pine Tree?”

Dipper fiddles with his pen, clicking it as he stares blankly at Bill. “You can try.”

Golden eyes darken with amusement and mild anger. “Oh? Have you suddenly become immune to me in the past minute?”

Dipper chuckles. “I just think I’ve got you figured out. Do your worst.”

That may have been the wrong thing to say, because Bill’s dark gaze lightens with a mischievous spark.

“Hmm, well, if you insist, Pine Tree. There are some things I’ve always been curious about with these stupid meatsuits.” 

Dipper hesitates, because once again Bill has warped that stupid nickname, purring each syllable, like he was savouring it on his tongue.

Bill moves so swiftly that Dipper doesn’t have time to react as he’s pinned to the forest floor by Bill’s weight. His hands slam down on each side of his head as Dipper’s eyes widen. He tries to wiggle out from under Bill, freezing when the movement reveals how near Bill hips are to his own, straddled across his torso.

Bill growls, leaning down to whisper in Dipper’s ear. “Don’t move, Pine Tree. You have no idea how fragile the human body is.”

Dipper snarls despite himself, hating the implications, bucking underneath Bill to attempt to dislodge him. Like before, the demon doesn’t move an inch, but the feeble attempt seems to amuse him.

Bill raises his eyebrow at him, arched in a dare. ‘Try me, kid,’ it seems to say.

Dipper pulls his arms up, threading them between Bill’s, pushing at the weak joint of his elbows. He’s guessing Bill hadn’t expected that, as his arms give way for a second.

Dipper’s triumph is short lived as Bill’s face is pushed dangerously close to his own, hot breath fanning across his cheeks as his teeth glint, flashing towards Dipper’s neck. The implication has his pulse racing, accentuating the stupidly vulnerable vein in his neck.

Bill’s right hand flashes, snatching Dipper’s wrist and yanking them above his head in one swift movement. He has to bite back a whine at the strain it puts on his shoulders, made worse by the hard ground digging into his back.

“Annoyed yet, kid?”

Oh, Dipper is beyond annoyed, but he grins nevertheless. Bill may be a demon, but he’s still a demon in a human body. The thought stirs an idea, but with his arms and legs pinned, he’s not entirely sure how to pull it off. The simplest solution presents itself, and he nearly gags at the idea. The thought of how Bill would react is what settles it for him, and he laughs under his breath.

Bill’s eyes narrow further. “Why are you laughing? Is this not annoying to you? You’re completely at my mercy.”

Dipper steels himself. He’s taken years of theater classes, he can do this. He raises his gaze, lashes heavy as he catches the demon’s attention, a small coy smile playing at his lips. “Oh, Bill.” He purrs the demon’s name, “That’s exactly what I want.”

The stunned look on his face is priceless, and Dipper almost loses his composer when laughter threatens to bubble up.

Dipper arches his back, tilting his neck to the side as he presses his mouth close to Bill’s ear. “This is all I’ve ever wanted, Bill. This is my ultimate dream.” He punctuates the ‘confession’ with a roll of his hips.

Bill’s startled gasp is nothing short of hilarious, as is his wide-eyed panic. “Uh, kid, I think you’ve got this all wrong. I? I have access to your dreams, and t-this was never in it.” 

Bill, all-powerful dream demon, actually  _ stuttered _ . Oh, this is better than Dipper could have even guessed. Thank god the creep hadn’t been secretly wanting something like this, or it could have turned sour very quickly.

Dipper rolls his hips again, batting his eyelashes as he pouts at Bill. “Of course it wasn’t.” He flicks his gaze to the side, letting a convincing blush rise to his cheeks as his voice falls to a whisper. “It’s embarrassing, and I’d have rather died than let you find out.”

Bill is rigid above him, eyes narrowing in suspicion. “If you’d like to die, that can be arranged.”

Dipper let’s a whine slip past his lips as he bucks up into Bill, cackling in his head at the way the demon’s eyes flutter in surprise, most likely unused to the sensation. Bill’s name falls from his lips in a hushed tone.

Bill’s eyes sparkle then, and a dark laugh crawls up his throat. “Oh, well played, Pine Tree, you almost had me there.”

Dipper refuses to give up, lips pulling into a pout as he raises watering eyes to Bill’s, biting his bottom lip as if embarrassed. His eyes dart away, shoulders hunching into himself.

Bill huffs above him. “Fuck. No, kid, tell me you’re screwing with me, because that’s seriously sick.”

Dipper closes his eyes, a choked cry emitting a low noise in the silence around them.

Bill scrambles away from him, practically throwing his wrists aside as he settles his weight on his stomach.

Dipper huffs out a startled breath as Bill’s full weight lands on his midsection. Good lord, why did he weigh so much?

Dipper keeps his wrists above his head, refusing to meet Bill’s gaze. Partly acting like he’s too embarrassed to meet his gaze, and partly actually too embarrassed to meet his gaze. He was just hoping to knee him in the groin, this is way more awkward than he was expecting.

Bill clears his throat, grimacing. “Hey kid, I know this form is super attractive, but uh? Oh geometry.” He trails off, cursing in some ancient language.

Dipper isn’t sure he can keep his laughter in anymore, and slaps his hand over his mouth.

Bill looks slightly horrified. “Are you gonna cry? I’m not good with tears.”

A strangled noise gets caught in his throat, because damn, this is almost funnier than what he had originally planned. Was Bill Cipher seriously scared of the idea of a human having the hots for him? It’s simply too rich.

The cursing starts up again, like an angry panic, and Bill throws up his hands. “Seriously, Pine Tree, this is not fun for me. I like you better when you’re annoyed! How do I get this,” He makes vague gestures with his hands, “To stop?”

Dipper shoves his laughter down, removing his hand to answer. The embarrassed frown graces his lips once again. He’d overestimated his ability to choke out a reply past his repressed laughter, because he can only shake his head. 

Bill look supremely uncomfortable, and his gaze darts around. If it weren’t so dark, Dipper would even swear he was blushing. 

Bill sucks in a breath, glaring at him. “I can’t blame you, but this stops after this, got it?”

Dipper is seriously one second from laughing his ass off, until Bill is leaning in. He doesn’t even have time to protest, before Bill is pressing his lips to his mouth.

Dipper’s mind refuses to work for a solid ten seconds as Bill’s surprisingly soft lips move against his own. When he finally reacts, hands coming up to push at Bill’s shoulders, Bill sighs in annoyance, seeming to think Dipper is enjoying it.

Dipper opens his mouth, gasping for air as he tries to tell Bill off for being a major creep, when the demon slips his tongue in Dipper’s mouth. He squeaks in surprise, hands moving from Bill’s shoulders to his face. Damn demon, he doesn’t even realise that Dipper is fighting him. Stupid demon strength, stupid strong jaw.

Bill sighs again, seeming so exasperated that Dipper hopes he pulls away, because he can’t even breath right now. Then the stupid demon does some weird thing with his tongue that has Dipper moaning into his mouth, and holy shit, can he just die where he is? This is officially the most mortifying thing he’s ever experienced. It’s not his fault he has next to no experience with this stuff.

While the embarrassment is eating at him, the need to breath is much more pressing, and he starts to really fight Bill, squirming beneath him in the hopes that the damn demon understands.

Bill pulls away with a mumble of, “That’s way too much, kid, calm down.”

Dipper lays gasping, lungs heaving as he struggles further to pull himself out from underneath Bill, fist swinging up to connect with his frustratingly sharp jaw.

Bill doesn’t seem to register the blow, but pain blossoms over Dipper’s knuckles as he whines, still wheezing for air.

Bill’s eyebrows knit together as he watches Dipper writhe. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but that doesn’t seem like an appropriate response to being kissed.”

Dipper cradles his injured hand, hissing at the stinging, and glares at Bill. “No, I assure you it’s quite normal when one party doesn’t want some creep’s tongue shoved down their throat.”

Bill looks equally annoyed and confused. “Excuse me? The only unwilling participant party here was me! I was just trying to stop your mortifying attempt at seduction and the gross crying.”

Dipper finally manages to scoot out from underneath the stupid demon, shooting him a withering glare. “How stupid are you? I’ve hated you since I was a kid, that hasn’t changed. I was acting, you idiot! I was hoping I could knee you where it hurts.”

Bill’s expression morphs into something murderous and amused. “Oh Pine Tree, you stupid, stupid child.” 

He rises, towering over Dipper’s coughing form, both glaring at the other.

“Haven’t you already figured out that I’m still indestructible in this form? Your pitiful human body couldn’t hope to harm me.”

Dipper is shaking with a growing anger, “Fuck you.”

Bill laughs without humour, “Oh, so you still want to?”

Dipper swings his foot out, hooking it behind Bill’s ankle. Indestructible doesn't mean he can’t catch him off guard. The way Bill’s face morphs into shock as he crashes into the ground is beyond satisfying.

The demon’s hand flashes, grabbing Dipper’s ankle in a vice-like grip, yanking him towards him. Dipper yelps, startled by the sudden pain that blossoms up his leg.

Bill’s hands are on him suddenly, a crushing force surrounding his throat. Dipper claws at the tightening fingers, pulse thumping wildly underneath them as his vision wavers. 

“Fuck.” He spits out, breath hitching. “Let...go.”

Bill growls, pressure increasing as he leans forward. “No one gets the better of me, Pine Tree.”

Dipper laughs brokenly, eyes fluttering as his lungs stutter. “G-got...ya.”

The pressure on his throat ceases suddenly, and he curls in on himself as he chokes on the air, glaring up at Bill.

The demon scowls at him, “You’ll pay for this Pine Tree, mark my words.”

Dipper’s coughing settles into ragged breathing, voice scratchy as he replies. “Like I said before, do your worst. You still need me.”

Bill scoffs, turning away. “You’ll soon find out how wrong you are.”

Bill leaves Dipper to decode that as he snaps his fingers. Dipper wakes up in his bed, tangled in his sheets, sweaty and unable to breath. 

He drags himself out of bed as the sun begins to seep in through the window. Once in the bathroom, he can’t stop the string of curses when he sees the dark bruises forming around his throat, perfect matches to Bill’s long fingers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh-ho boy. Wow, is it hot in here? haha  
Honestly, enemies with sexual frustration and angst? Sign me up  
I'm changing the rating to Mature for this chapter, but I fully expect I'll have to change it again in the future


	6. VI.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dipper confronts Bill. Some things are confessed.

**Bill’s POV**

Bill stares at the trees around him as he seethes. Stupid Pine Tree, thinking he can waltz back into Bill’s immortal life and mess everything up.

Something akin to disgust rolls around in his stomach, and Bill thrusts a hand out, momentarily placated by the cyan fire that incinerates the nearest trees.

Watching things crumble to ash always puts a smile on his face. Not that it entirely dissolves the gross feelings churning inside him.

Bill leans back on a thick-trunked pine, crossing his legs at the ankle as he ponders the changes in the young Pines kid. He’d only been away for a year, but damn had that made a difference. Pine Tree no longer looked like a scrawny little kitten. That’s not to say that the kid wasn’t still adorable, but it was definitely in a different way.

Bill snickers under his breath, “Pretty boy.”

He shakes his head, trying to dislodge the memory of the sheer hatred that had burned in the kid’s eyes as Bill had choked him. What had Pine Tree expected?

Bill sucks air in through his teeth, running his tongue over the sharpened points. Well, no time like the present to wreak havoc.

The demon pushes himself off the tree, disappearing from the forest mindscape with a small ‘pop’.

…

Dipper sneaks down the stairs of the shack while trying to avoid the creaking boards. That’s nearly all of them, unfortunately.

He startles when Mabel whirls around the corner, humming and twirling Waddles around. She stops when she sees him, eyes quickly darting to his weird outfit.

“What in the world are you wearing?”

Dipper chuckles nervously as he scuffs his shoe on the second to last stair. So close.

“What do you mean?”

Mabel’s eyebrows are slowly creeping up as she assesses it again. “You look like a hipster.”

Dipper frowns, grumbling. “It’s not that bad.”

Mabel beams at him, giggling. “Sorry bro! It’s not ugly, it’s just…” She tilts her head at the high-collared cream turtleneck. “It’s just not very you.”

He shrugs, “I’m experimenting.”

Mabel’s eyes gleam suddenly, alight with a wicked excitement. “Does this mean you’ll finally let me dress you in some of my fashion designs?”

Dipper pales, “Absolutely not! I’ve had enough of your dresses for a lifetime!”

Dipper gently pushes past his twin as she pouts, mumbling an apology as he slips out the front door. He can hear her grumbling about ‘unappreciative brothers’ as he darts off to the forest.

He breaks through the treeline at a sprint, weaving through the trees and ducking under stray branches as he heads for the clearing. He throat is throbbing, which only serves to make him seethe harder. That damn demon.

The trees thin out before him, opening into a wide circle of willowy grass dappled with peach beams of sunlight. The air is calm and sweetly scented with dew and fae lilies. None of this soothes Dipper’s overflowing rage.

“Fuck you, Bill! You are such an insufferable jackass that’s it’s not even funny at this point! Not that you were ever funny to begin with. Or even tolerable, for that matter. But now you’ve crossed the border of ‘mildly annoying’ into the territory of ‘insanely fucking rude’.”

Dipper continues ranting, pulling out different items for the same ritual he performed the morning before. His chalk lines are jagged from how hard his hands are shaking, but he gets it done faster than the day before. He speeds through the latin, tongue somehow finding a way to pronounce it better than before as the world snaps into monochrome.

Bill stands in the circle with a shit-eating grin, hands on his hips as he cackles.

“Wow Pine Tree, you seem really worked up over something.”

Dipper narrows his eyes at the demon, chest heaving as he struggles to calm his breathing. “Where the fuck is the jacket I gave you?”

Bill barely looks down, waving his hand in the air. “Oh, that boring old thing? I don’t know, I either burned it or tossed it into the dimension of eternal fire.”

Dipper draws in a shuddering breath, closing his eyes. “Summon some clothes right now, or so help me, Bill.”

“Help you? I don’t think I want to. Besides, you never requested me to wear anything in my old form.”

Dipper stalks towards the circle, glaring. “You used to be a stupid floating triangle that didn’t possess reproductive organs on the outside of your body, so put on some clothes right now or I will find a way to personally make your existence more miserable than it already is.”

Bill arches an eyebrow at the snarling teen, and snaps his fingers. The outfit he summons is simple, but screams of wealth. A sort of soft, shiny fabric that Dipper doesn’t have the time to assess. It hardly covers anything, what with how sheer the top is, but at least the slacks covering the demon’s long legs are opaque.

“There, Pine Tree, happy? I didn’t known you were so sensitive about your choking kink and raging homosexuality, but what else should I expect from a human.”

Dipper blinks rapidly, mouth hanging open as his eyebrows furrow. “My  _ what _ now?”

Bill cackles and brings his legs up to float criss-cross. “Well, obviously you’re mad at me because of your inability to face your repressed kinks and sexuality. Poor, delusional, Pine Tree.”

Bill frowns in fake sympathy and Dipper’s mind reels as he tries to understand what the demon is insinuating.

“Are you purposely yanking my leg, or are you just stupid? I’m bisexual, if you must know, and completely secure with myself. And I don’t have a choking kink, what the hell, dude?”

Bill laughs under his breath, “Oh, dear Pine Tree, you sure seemed like you did last night.”

Something snaps in Dipper’s mind. Perhaps it’s simply been too many years of dealing with the stress of Bill watching him, or maybe it’s the stress of dealing with him for the past few days. It doesn’t particularly matter which it is, because Dipper surges forward nonetheless, despite all the alarms going off in his head.

His feet cross the glowing blue lines, and the shock that flickers across Bill’s face is worth whatever consequences this will have. The fist that collides with Bill’s cheek brings Dipper a sick sort of happiness, and the small noise of surprise the demon makes is music to his ears.

The two crash to the ground in the circle in a mess of limbs, but that doesn’t stop Dipper from swinging again. The demon seems stunned by the force of the blows and the situation, and takes a few seconds to wrap his hands around Dipper’s wrists.

The demon’s grip is steel compared to the pitifully human strength Dipper has. His head bows as he pulls in ragged breaths, struggling to keep in the tears burning his eyes.

“I hate you.”

The words are whispered, but they seem to hit Bill across the face as his eyes dart to the side.

“What’s new, kid. You’re going to hate me a lot more when you realise where you are.”

Dipper looks to the side, observing the blue circle surrounding them with dull eyes. He shrugs, movement stilted by the fact that Bill still has his wrist in an iron grip.

“I’m so sick of all of this. Do what you want to me, just leave my family alone.”

Bill laughs, but the sound doesn’t hold the same edge as usual. “It’s no fun if you give up, Pine Tree.”

Dipper tries to stir up the anger that was present mere moments ago, but it’s gone. His shoulders shake, silent sobs tearing through his body with a tectonic strength. Bill releases his wrists suddenly, most likely disgusted by the show of human emotions. Dipper crawls off Bill’s thighs to lay on the grass, back pressed to the damp earth.

“I really do hate you.”

Bill sighs, eyes locked on the sky. “I know.”

“What do you want? The sooner you’re out of my life, the better.”

“Make my form corporeal.”

“I still don’t understand why.”

“You don’t need to kid.”

Dipper hums, and the low note hangs in the air. “Alright. How.”

Bill, to his credit, doesn’t even grin at his easy acceptance. “I’ll let you know when the time’s right. Just finish your contract.”

Dipper closes his eyes, finding the courage to pull himself up off the ground. Neither say anything in the heavy silence, aware of how fragile things are. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This single chapter was the sole reason for me writing Pretty Boy, and up until now I had forgotten(,:  
Dipper in most fanfic: *wears high collared shirts to hide hickies*  
Dipper in mine: *wears a high collared shirt to hide the fact that Bill choked him (not in a kinky way)*

**Author's Note:**

> I have big things in store for this story! Billdip is my ultimate weakness, and I'm fully prepared to let it destroy me(,:  
Bill in the next chapter, kids


End file.
